Music-related Bodily Sensation Map in Individuals with Depressive Tendencies

Music has the power to influence people’s emotions. Therefore, music is also used as an intervention to reduce the stress in mental disorders such as depression and anxiety. Recent research has suggested that the body plays a key role in the connection between music and emotion with a correlation between the head sensations and negative emotions while listening to music. Additionally, strong sensations in the head have been suggested as a bodily perception associated with depression. In this study, we investigated the bodily sensations experienced by people with depressive tendencies when listening to music and their association with specific emotional states, using body mapping and musical chord progression. Our results revealed that individuals with depressive tendencies experience strong head sensations, with unpleasantness and low aesthetics, particularly for chord progression with a high level of surprise and uncertainty. This study sheds light on the intricate relationship between music, bodily sensations, and emotional states, providing valuable insights for research on the body and for developing musical therapeutic interventions targeting depression and related conditions.